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794. (Verse 5)) And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. That this signifies doctrine destroying the goods of the Word, and its truths utterly, is evident from the signification of south, as denoting doctrine, from which is instruction, preaching, and reasoning (concerning which see above, n. 782). The reason why doctrine is signified by the mouth of the beast is, that in the verse just preceding it was said that they worshipped the dragon and his beast; and this signified the acknowledgment of that dogma, and its reception in doctrine; and because it was also said above, that the mouth of that beast was as the mouth of a lion; and this signified instruction, preaching, and reasoning, which are from doctrine received; and from the signification of speaking great things, as denoting to teach evils which are destructive of the goods of the Word. For great, in the Word, is said of good, and, in the opposite sense, of evil; but much is said of truth, and, in the opposite sense, of falsity (as may be seen above, n. 336, 337, 424). Because by the beast are meant those who, by reasonings, separate faith from life, and those who do this destroy the goods of the Word; and since by his mouth is signified their doctrine, therefore, by speaking great things is signified to destroy the goods of the Word; and from the signification of speaking blasphemies, as denoting to falsify the truths of the World (concerning which see above, n. 778).
From these things it is clear that by a mouth being given to him speaking great things is signified doctrine destroying the goods of the Word, and falsifying its truths utterly. The reason why it is said, falsifying its truths utterly is, that the falsification of the Word, even to the destruction of Divine truth, such as it is in the heavens and in the spiritual sense of the Word, is signified by blasphemy (as may be seen above, n. 778); and this is meant by falsifying truths utterly.
[2] It is said, that by the mouth of the beast speaking great things, is signified doctrine, and thence instruction, preaching, and reasoning, destroying the goods of the Word; therefore it shall be explained by what means this destruction is effected. They are principally destroyed by this, that they teach that faith without good works justifies and saves, and this they confirm by the following reasoning. No one can do good of himself; and the good which a man does of himself cannot be other than merit-seeking. And this they also establish from the Word, especially from the parable concerning the Pharisee and publican praying in the temple, saying, that
The latter was justified merely by saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner."
And that the Pharisee was not justified who said that
He was not an extortioner, unjust, an adulterer, as others were, and that he fasted twice in the week, and gave tithes of all that he possessed (Luke 18:10-14).
And also from these words of the Lord:
"Doth the master thank the servant for doing those things which were commanded him? I trow not; so likewise ye, when ye shall have done all things which are commanded you, say, Truly we are unprofitable servants, for we have done that which it was our duty to do" (Luke 17:9, 10).
Those, however, who conclude from these words that there is nothing of justification and salvation in good works, but in faith alone, err greatly; they do not know what good works are. For there are works done by man that are not good; and there are works done by the Lord through man that are good. Both, however, appear similar in the external form, but in the internal they are entirely dissimilar. The works which the Pharisee enumerated were works done by himself, and thence also merit-seeking. The works which servants do from command are similar; and nevertheless they are called useless and unprofitable.
[3] It shall now therefore be explained, how works are done by man himself, and how they are done by the Lord in man; also how the latter are distinguished from the former. It was shown above (n. 790).
[4] From these considerations it is now evident, that were man to fulfil all things of the law from himself; for example, were he to give much to the poor, do good to widows and orphans, assist the needy, in fact, were he to give food to the hungry, and drink to the thirsty, take in strangers, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those who are in prison; if he should preach and teach the gospel, convert the gentiles, frequent temples, hear preaching devoutly, attend the sacrament of the Supper frequently in the year, implore [God] in prayers, and other things of a like nature, and his inner man be not purified from the love of ruling and from the conceit of his own intelligence, from contempt of others, from hatred and revenge, from craftiness and malice, from insincerity and injustice, from the lasciviousness of adultery, and from other evils and the falsities therefrom; still all these works would be hypocritical, and from the man himself and not from the Lord. On the other hand, these same works, when the internal is purified, are all good, because they are from the Lord in man. This has been testified to me from a thousand examples in the spiritual world. I have there heard several who were permitted to call to mind their actions during their life in the world, and to enumerate the good deeds they had done; but when their internal was opened, it was discovered to be full of every kind of evil, and the falsity arising therefrom; and it was then revealed to them, that the good deeds which they had enumerated they had done from themselves, because for the sake of themselves and the world.
The case, however, is different with those who have abstained from doing evils, from the Word; and have afterwards shunned and become averse to them on account of their being sins, and contrary to love to God, and to charity towards their neighbor; the works of such persons, although, in the external form, they appeared similar to the works of those who have been treated of above, and also were in like manner perceived as if they were done from themselves, were all good. These are the works that are meant by works in the Word, which make man spiritual, and happy to eternity. It is these which cannot by any means be separated from faith. For faith, if these should be separated, would be dead; and a dead faith is a faith of falsity from evil.
794. Verse 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, signifies the doctrine destroying utterly the goods of the Word and its truths. This is evident from the signification of "mouth," as being doctrine, from which is instruction, preaching, and reasoning (of which above, n. 782). "The mouth of the beast," signifies doctrine, because in the preceding verse it was said that "they worshipped the dragon and its beast;" and this signified the acknowledgment of that dogma, and the reception of it in doctrine; also because it was said above that "the mouth of that beast was as the mouth of a lion," which signified instruction, preaching, and reasoning, which are from the received doctrine. The above is evident also from the signification of "speaking great things," as being to teach evils that destroy the goods of the Word, for "great" is predicated in the Word of good, and in the contrary sense of evil, while "many" is predicated of truth, and in the contrary sense of falsity (See above, n . 336-337, 424). Because "the beast" means those who by reasonings separate faith from life, and those who do this destroy the goods of the Word, and because his "mouth" signifies their doctrine, therefore "to speak great things" signifies to destroy the goods of the Word. The above is evident also from the signification of "speaking blasphemies," as meaning to falsify the truths of the Word (See above, n. 778). From this it is clear that "there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" signifies the doctrine destroying the goods of the Word and utterly falsifying its truths. It is said utterly falsifying its truths, because the falsification of the Word even to the destruction of Divine truth, such as it is in the heavens and such as it is in the spiritual sense of the Word, is signified by "blasphemy" (See above, n. 778); this therefore is what is meant by utterly falsifying truths.
[2] It is said that "the mouth of the beast speaking great things" signifies doctrine, and instruction, preaching, and reasoning therefrom destroying the goods of the Word; it shall be told, therefore, in what manner they are destroyed. They are destroyed especially by teaching that faith without good works justifies and saves, and this is confirmed by the reasoning that no one can do good of himself, and that the good that a man does of himself must needs be meritorious good; and this is established by the Word, especially by the Pharisee and the publican praying in the temple:
That the latter was justified merely by his saying, God be merciful to me a sinner; and that the Pharisee was not justified who said that he was not an extortioner, unjust, and an adulterer, as others were, and that he fasted twice in the week, and gave tithes of all that he possessed (Luke 18:10-14);
and also by these words of the Lord:
Doth the lord thank the servant for doing those things that were commanded him? I trow not. So ye also, when ye shall have done all things that are commanded you, say, We are surely useless servants, for we have done that which we ought to do (Luke 17:9, 10).
But those are greatly mistaken who conclude from these words that there is nothing of justification and salvation in good works, but in faith alone, for they do not know what good works are. There are works that are done by man, and these are not good; and there are works that are done by the Lord through man, and these are good. Yet both of these appear alike in external form; but in internal form they are wholly unlike. The works enumerated by the Pharisee were works done from himself, and were therefore meritorious; so, too, the works done by command by servants, who are nevertheless called "useless."
[3] It shall now be told, therefore, how works are done by man himself, and how they are done by the Lord with man, also how the latter are distinguished from the former. It has been shown above n. 790.
[4] From this it can be seen that if man were to fulfill all things of the law from self, that is, were to give much to the poor, were to do good to widows and orphans, to assist the needy, yea, were to give food to the hungry, and drink to the thirsty, to take in strangers, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and those who are bound in prison, preach and teach the gospel, convert the Gentiles, frequent temples, devoutly listen to preaching, attend the sacrament of the Supper frequently each year, spend time in praying, and other like things, and if his internal had not been purified from the love of rule and from the pride of self-intelligence, from the contempt of others, from hatred and revenge, from craftiness and malice, from insincerity and injustice, from the lasciviousness of adultery, and from other evils and falsities therefrom, still all these works would be hypocritical and from the man himself, and not from the Lord. But these same works when the internal has been purified are all good, because they are from the Lord with man. This has been testified to me from very many examples in the spiritual world. I have there heard that it has been granted to many to call to mind the acts of their life in the world, and to enumerate the good deeds they had done; but when their internal was opened it was found to be full of all evil and falsity therefrom; and it was then revealed to them that the good deeds they had enumerated they had done from self, because for the sake of self and the world. But it is otherwise with those who from the Word have abstained from doing evils, and have afterwards shunned and turned away from them because they are sins, and are contrary to love to God and to charity towards the neighbor. Their works were all good, although they had a similar appearance in external form as the works of those described above, and there was a perception in like manner of their having been done as if from self. These works are what are meant in the Word by the "works" that make a man spiritual, and make him happy to eternity; and these can in no way be separated from faith, for if faith were to be separated from these it would be dead, and a dead faith is a faith in falsity from evil.
794. [Vers. 5.] "Et datum ei os loquens magna et blasphemias." Quod significet doctrinam destruentem bona Verbi, et penitus vera ejus, constat ex significatione "oris", quod sit doctrina, ex qua instructio, praedicatio, et ratiocinatio (de qua supra n. 782); quod doctrina per "os bestiae" significetur, est quia in versu mox praecedente dictum est quod "adoraverint draconem et ejus bestiam", et per id significata est agnitio illius dogmatis, et receptio in doctrina; et quia supra etiam dictum est quod "os illius bestiae esset sicut os leonis", et per id significata est instructio, praedicatio et ratiocinatio, quae sunt ex recepta doctrina: ex significatione "loqui magna", quod sit docere mala destruentia bona Verbi, "magnum" enim in Verbo dicitur de bono, ac in opposito sensu de malo, at "multum" de vero et in opposito sensu de falso (videatur supra, n. 336 [a] , 337, 424); quia per "bestiam" intelliguntur illi qui per ratiocinia separant fidem a vita, et qui hoc faciunt destruunt bona Verbi, et quia per "os" ejus significatur doctrina eorum, ideo per "loqui magna" significatur destruere bona Verbi: et ex significatione "loqui blasphemias", quod sit falsificare vera Verbi (de qua supra, n. 778): ex his patet quod per "os datum ei loquens magna et blasphemias" significetur doctrina destruens bona Verbi, et falsificans penitus vera ejus. Quod dicatur, falsificans penitus vera ejus, est quia falsificatio Verbi usque ad destructionem Divini Veri quale est in caelis et quale est in sensu spirituali Verbi, significatur per "blasphemiam" (videatur supra, n. 778): hoc ita intelligitur per falsificare penitus vera.
[2] Dicitur quod per "os bestiae loquens magna" significetur doctrina, ac inde instructio, praedicatio, et ratiocinatio, destruens bona Verbi; quare dicetur per quid destruit: destruit illa imprimis per id, quod doceat quod fides absque bonis operibus justificet et salvet, et illud per hoc ratiocinium confirmant, quia nemo potest bonum facere ex se, et quia bonum quod homo facit ex se non possit non esse meritorium; et hoc quoque constabiliunt ex Verbo, imprimis ex Pharisaeo et Publicano orantibus in Templo,
Quod hic justificatus sit solum per quod dixerit, "Deus propitius esto mihi peccatori"; et quod Pharisaeus non justificatus sit, qui dixit se non rapacem, injustum et adulterum esse, sicut reliqui, et se jejunasse bis in septimana, et dedisse decimas omnium quae possedit (Luca 18:10-14);
et quoque ex his Domini verbis,
"Num" Dominus "gratiam habet servo.., quod fecerit quae mandata sunt illi? Non reor: sic etiam vos, cum feceritis omnia quae mandata sunt vobis, dicitis utique servi inutiles sumus, quia quod debebamus facere fecimus" (Luca 17:9, 10):
at qui ex his concludunt quod nihil justificationis et salvationis sit in bonis operibus, sed in sola fide, maxime errant, non sciunt enim quid sunt bona opera. Sunt enim opera quae fiunt ab homine; haec non bona sunt: et sunt opera quae fiunt a Domino per hominem, et haec bona sunt: utraque usque in externa forma apparent similia, sed in interna sunt prorsus dissimilia. Opera quae Pharisaeus recensuit, erant opera ab ipso, et inde quoque meritoria; similiter opera quae ex mandato faciunt servi, qui usque dicuntur inutiles.
[3] Nunc itaque dicetur quomodo opera ab ipso homine fiunt, et quomodo opera a Domino apud hominem, tum quomodo haec ab illis dignoscuntur. supra (n. 790 [b]) ostensum est quod homini binae mentes sint, una spiritualis, altera naturalis: mens spiritualis est quae vocatur internus et spiritualis homo, et mens naturalis est quae vocatur externus et naturalis homo: et quia homini internum spirituale est et externum naturale, ac internum conjunctum est caelo et externum conjunctum est mundo, sequitur quod quicquid homo facit ex illo interno per externum, hoc faciat ex caelo, hoc est, per caelum a Domino; at quicquid homo facit ab externo absque interno, hoc faciat homo ex se. Hoc intelligitur per Domini verba apud Lucam,
Utique vos Pharisaei externum poculi et patinae purgatis, internum vero vestrum plenum est rapina et malitia: insipientes, nonne qui fecit externum, etiam internum fecit? immo vero quae insunt: date eleemosynam, tum ecce omnia munda vobis erunt" (11:39-41):
dicitur, externum "poculi et patinae", ac internum eorum, quia per "poculum" intelligitur simile quod per "vinum", et per "patinam" simile quod per "cibum"; per "vinum" significatur verum, ac per "cibum" significatur bonum: dicitur etiam "date eleemosynam", et per illam significatur amor et charitas; ex illis patet, quod quicquid homo facit ex solo externo, immundum sit, at quicquid ab interno purgato facit per externum, mundum sit, hoc enim a Domino est, illud autem ab homine: sed hanc rem etiam exempla illustrent. Internum est bonum facere propter bonum, verum loqui propter verum, sincerum agere propter sincerum, et justum facere propter justum: qui bonum facit propter bonum, is bonum facit ex bono, ita ex Domino, qui est ipsum Bonum, et ex quo omne bonum; qui verum loquitur propter verum, is verum loquitur ex vero, ita ex Domino, qui est ipsum Verum, et ex quo omne verum: similiter qui sincerum agit propter sincerum, et justum facit propter justum, nam sincerum est bonum et verum morale, et justum est bonum et verum civile; et omne bonum et verum est a Domino, et non ab homine, quia fiunt ex interno per externum. At si homo facit et loquitur bonum, verum, sincerum et justum propter se et mundum, facit et loquitur illa ex se, quia ab externo homine absque interno; et illa facta seu opera sunt omnia mala, et si in illis spectatur caelum, sunt meritoria, quae omnia sunt iniqua. Opera illa num sint ex Domino, vel num ex homine, non dignosci potest ab aliquo in mundo, quoniam utraque apparent similia in externa forma, sed solum dignoscuntur a Domino; at post vitam hominis in mundo, aperitur ex qua origine sunt (Matthaeus 10:26, 27; Marcus 4:22; Luca 8:17; 12:2, 3, 8, 9). Quomodo autem homini datur internum, et externum ab interno, videatur supra (n. 790 [b]).
[4] Ex his nunc constare potest, si homo impleret omnia legis ex se, ut si daret multa pauperibus, si bonum faceret pupillis et viduis, opem ferret egenis, immo si daret esurientibus edere, potaret sitientes, colligeret peregrinos, indueret nudum, visitaret aegrotos, veniret ad vinctos in carcere, Evangelium praedicaret et doceret, converteret gentes, frequentaret templa, praedicationes devote auscultaret, quotannis saepe obiret sacramentum Cenae, vacaret precibus, et plura, ac internum ejus non purificatum est ab amore imperandi et a fastu propriae intelligentiae, a contemptu aliorum, ab odio et vindicta, ab astu et malitia, ab insinceritate et injustitia, a lascivo adulterii, et a reliquis malis et inde falsis, usque omnia illa opera sunt hypocritica, et sunt ex ipso homine, et non a Domino. At vero eadem illa opera, quando internum purificatum est, sunt omnia bona, quia a Domino apud hominem. Hoc ex mille exemplis in mundo spirituali mihi testatum factum est. Audivi quod pluribus datum sit recordari actorum vitae suae in mundo, et enumerare bona quae fecerunt; sed cum aperiebatur internum eorum, deprehensum est illud plenum omni malo et inde falso; et tunc revelatum est illis, quod bona quae enumeraverunt, ex se fecerint, quia propter se et mundum. Aliter vero apud illos qui abstinuerunt a malis faciendis ex Verbo, et dein fugerunt et aversati sunt illa propterea quod peccata essent, et contra amorem in Deum, et contra charitatem erga proximum; eorum opera, tametsi in externa forma similia apparuerunt operibus illorum, de quibus mox supra dictum est, et quoque similiter percepta sicut a se facta fuissent, omnia bona fuerunt. Haec opera sunt, quae in Verbo intelliguntur per "opera" quae hominem faciunt spiritualem, et felicem in aeternum; et haec sunt, quae a fide nullatenus separari possunt; nam fides, si ab ea separarentur, foret mortua, et fides mortua est fides falsi ex malo.